“The past few days have seen some very encouraging developments concerning public education in Louisiana, and we are optimistic that more important work can and will be accomplished over the next few months for the best interests of the children of our state.

On Monday, Superintendent John White openly acknowledged some of the problems with Common Core in Louisiana, proposed three new recommendations for consideration of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and agreed that Louisiana should have its own K-12 education standards.

Two days earlier, a letter by four Common Core supporters in the Legislature was published statewide making similar recommendations and calling for BESE to “continue the Louisiana plan” for education reforms. These are positive steps, and we look forward to working together during the upcoming legislative session to make critical adjustments to ensure that a REAL Louisiana plan advances.

Superintendent White has suggested that BESE needs to review the state’s academic standards as early as this fall, and we agree. Indeed, his suggestion that BESE should convene a commission of Louisiana educators, parents and university leaders to assist in a comprehensive review is one that we have long advocated. However, we note there will be no point in engaging such a review if the stakeholders here are limited by the existing Common Core State Standards Initiative that was developed elsewhere. Since no more than 15 percent of the Common Core Standards can be altered or changed by participating states, it seems obvious that our mutual goal of improving Louisiana standards cannot be reached so long as we remain participants in Common Core.

With regard to student assessment, Superintendent White has suggested that our Department of Education should follow the Administrative Procedures Act and allow a transparent bid process for vendors to propose a test that is “unique to Louisiana while comparable to other states.” We certainly agree and have been advocating this for nearly a year. However, we note it will be impossible to obtain bids for a new test if its underlying standards are not yet decided. It would thus be unwise to rush into a new testing contract without having these foundational questions answered first.

We agree with Superintendent White and our colleagues who have now acknowledged that a two year baseline of testing results is needed before any sanctions are placed on our students, teachers, schools and districts. Our teachers and districts work extremely hard to comply with every state mandate, and this delay will greatly reduce the stresses related to implementation. Superintendent White has been very vocal on this point, and we agree that no hardworking teacher, principal, or district should be punished based on decisions made outside their control.

Parents and teachers have voiced their concerns loudly across this state and nation, and we elected officials should be listening. Indeed, that is our duty. The people of our state are understandably wary of all tests, textbooks and curriculum that are aligned to national standards, because such an alignment is always accompanied by the dangers of federal intrusion and wasteful spending that brings no benefit to our kids.

Superintendent White also acknowledged this week that we are “over-testing” our students and thus, “We all need to eliminate any tests that are not meaningfully contributing to student learning.” We certainly agree, and it is our belief that the current test aligned with Common Core and PARCC is one of the problems that should be eliminated here once and for all – as other states have already done.

Again, we reiterate our optimism about these critical points on which more and more state leaders now agree. We look forward to working with all in good faith to ensure that in the very near future we are truly developing a REAL Louisiana Plan for the children of our great state. They deserve it, and the stakes are too high for us to deliver anything less.”

The letter was signed by BESE member, at large, Jane Smith of Bossier Parish, along with three other BESE members and 28 state legislators.

Just last week, local teachers echoed similar sentiments in a series of articles printed in the Jennings Daily News. Hopefully, the letter outlining “A REAL Louisiana Plan” means that someone in the state is finally listening to our teachers.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/a-real-louisiana-plan/feed/0Respect the game and its fanshttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/respect-the-game-and-its-fans/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/respect-the-game-and-its-fans/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 16:47:59 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30938Whether or not your favorite school is gearing up for a playoff run, in the heart of their bracket or has already hung up the sneakers for the season, playoff basketball has descended upon Jeff Davis Parish and fans are turning out in droves to support their team.

While there is nothing wrong with being an avid cheerleader for whichever squad holds your heart, it is important to bear in mind the attitude you bring with you to the gym.

It can be tempting at times, and maybe even justified, to question a coach’s decision-making, disagree with an official’s ruling or find annoyance with an opposing fan in the stands. However, we as ambassadors for both the Jeff Davis Parish and its area schools must be mindful of how we represent ourselves while enjoying hardwood action.

Don’t be “that fan,” swearing, trash-talking or intimidating visiting players, coaches and supporters. There is nothing to be gained from making another individual’s experience one they’ll always view in a negative light.

The citizens of our parish are warm and hospitable, and we should all strive to reflect that in our words and actions despite the ferocity of the action on the court. Does that mean tone down the love and affection you have for your squad? Of course not! But that blind loyalty should not cause us as fans to make the rest of the game a nightmare for our guests.

Be gracious in both victory and defeat, and realize that your guests are feeling just as emotional as you.

To all area basketball teams still in the thick of their post-season runs, know that all of Jeff Davis Parish is behind you and wants to see you achieve the pinnacle of your year: a state title.

Together we can leave a great impression on whomever should find themselves in our gyms on game night, and we can forge a bond of friendship and respect that will flourish in the future.

Congratulations to all Jeff Davis Parish teams!

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/respect-the-game-and-its-fans/feed/0Jindal spends $1.5M from campaign, though no La. race to runhttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/jindal-spends-1-5m-from-campaign-though-no-la-race-to-run/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/jindal-spends-1-5m-from-campaign-though-no-la-race-to-run/#commentsFri, 20 Feb 2015 16:31:44 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30850Gov. Bobby Jindal spent nearly $1.5 million from his state campaign account over the last year, though he isn’t up for re-election and doesn’t plan to run for any other Louisiana office.

A finance report filed this week by the Republican governor’s campaign lists 200 pages of expenses throughout 2014, spending that could help the term-limited Jindal continue the political network needed for a possible 2016 presidential bid.

Nearly $578,000 was spent on political consulting, digital advertising and polling, according to the report filed with the state Board of Ethics. Another $132,000 was paid to a fundraising expert. Office space was rented. Campaign employees were paid. And $157,000 covered plane tickets, hotels, meals, cabs and other expenses as Jindal traveled the country for speeches and political appearances that raise his national profile.

Jindal has said he’s considering a presidential campaign and would announce his decision later this year.

The governor’s office referred questions about the report to Jindal’s chief political adviser, Timmy Teepell. He said the spending was allowable under the restrictions governing the state campaign account and was not tied to a possible White House candidacy.

“You can’t use it to run for a federal office, and he’s not a candidate for a federal office,” Teepell said Thursday.

While a small portion of last year’s $157,000 in travel expenses involved the governor’s economic development trip to Asia, much of the spending covered the costs of Jindal’s speeches and appearances to Republican groups and at GOP events around the country.

More than one-third of the spending, nearly $578,000, was sent to OnMessage Inc., the Washington, D.C.-area political consulting firm where Teepell works. The firm was paid a monthly retainer that began the year at $28,000 and grew to $30,000 for its services, plus additional sums for polling, research and advertising on social media sites.

Teepell said the monthly retainer “covers my time, providing advice and counsel on all sorts of issues dealing with state government issues. That may be policy issues or budget issues or legislative issues or communications issues.”

Paid $11,000 per month was the Bautsch Group LLC, the company owned by Jindal’s longtime fundraiser Alexandra Bautsch, even though the governor appeared to do little fundraising. Jindal listed less than $21,000 in campaign donations over 2014.

Teepell said Bautsch’s work involved continuing “to handle the relationships” with previous donors.

“You’ve got a number of folks who have given to the governor over the last six or seven years and Allee is the person who’s built the relationships, so when they want to talk to the governor, she’s the one they call,” he said.

Much of the nearly $202,000 in payroll costs Teepell described as covering the salary of a scheduler who sorts through the many invitations and speaking requests Jindal receives and the pay for interns who do data entry of all the spending receipts.

He said the spending was tapering off this year, with no fundraising planned and about $604,000 remaining in the campaign account.

“All the campaign activity on the state side is coming to a halt,” Teepell said.

Probably because most of it has been spent.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/jindal-spends-1-5m-from-campaign-though-no-la-race-to-run/feed/0Federal judge stalls Obama’s executive action on immigrationhttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/federal-judge-stalls-obamas-executive-action-on-immigration/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/federal-judge-stalls-obamas-executive-action-on-immigration/#commentsThu, 19 Feb 2015 16:51:23 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30831The White House promised an appeal Tuesday after a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration and gave a coalition of 26 states time to pursue a lawsuit aiming to permanently stop the orders.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision late Monday puts on hold Obama’s orders that could spare from deportation as many as five million people who are in the U.S. illegally.

Hanen wrote in a memorandum accompanying his order that the lawsuit should go forward. Without a preliminary injunction, he said, the states would “suffer irreparable harm in this case.”

“The genie would be impossible to put back into the bottle,” he wrote, adding that he agreed that legalizing the presence of millions of people is a “virtually irreversible” action.

In a statement early Tuesday, the White House defended the executive orders issued in November as within the president’s legal authority, saying the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have said federal officials can establish priorities in enforcing immigration laws.

“The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision,” the statement said.

The U.S. Department of Justice will appeal the ruling, the White House said. The appeal will be heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The first of Obama’s orders — to expand a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children — was set to start taking effect Wednesday. The other major part of Obama’s order, which extends deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years, was not expected to begin until May 19.

Joaquin Guerra, political director of Texas Organizing Project, called the ruling a “temporary setback.”

“We will continue getting immigrants ready to apply for administrative relief,” he said in a statement. The nonprofit says it promotes social and economic equality for low to moderate income Texans.

The coalition of states, led by Texas and made up of mostly conservative states in the South and Midwest, argues that Obama has violated the “Take Care Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, which they say limits the scope of presidential power, and that his executive actions would be difficult to undo once immigrants started to apply for deferred action. They also say Obama’s order would force increased investment in law enforcement, health care and education.

House Speaker John Boehner said Monday’s ruling wasn’t a surprise and underscores that Obama acted beyond his authority.

Boehner said he hopes that Senate Democrats will relent in their opposition to a Homeland Security Department spending bill that overturns Obama’s action. The department’s funding expires Feb. 27 and Congress has only a few legislative days to act.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision a “victory for the rule of law in America” in a statement late Monday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who led the state into the lawsuit when he was the state’s attorney general, said Hanen’s decision “rightly stops the President’s overreach in its tracks.”

Hanen, who’s been on the federal court since 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush, regularly handles border cases but wasn’t known for being outspoken on immigration until a 2013 case. In that case, Hanen suggested that Homeland Security should be arresting parents living in the U.S. illegally who induce their children to cross the border.

Congressional Republicans have vowed to block Obama’s actions by cutting off Homeland Security Department spending for the program. Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled House passed a $39.7 billion spending bill to fund the department through the end of the budget year, but attached language to undo Obama’s executive actions. The fate of that House-passed bill is unclear as Republicans in the Senate do not have the 60-vote majority needed to advance most legislation.

Among those supporting Obama’s executive order is a group of 12 mostly liberal states, including Washington and California, as well as the District of Columbia. They filed a motion with Hanen in support of Obama, arguing the directives will substantially benefit states and will further the public interest.

A group of law enforcement officials, including the Major Cities Chiefs Association and more than 20 police chiefs and sheriffs from across the country, also filed a motion in support, arguing the executive action will improve public safety by encouraging cooperation between police and individuals with concerns about their immigration status.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/federal-judge-stalls-obamas-executive-action-on-immigration/feed/0New computerized tests debut this weekhttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/new-computerized-tests-debut-this-week/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/new-computerized-tests-debut-this-week/#commentsWed, 18 Feb 2015 16:57:27 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30810The State of Ohio will be the first to administer one of two tests in English language arts and math based on the Common Core standards developed by two separate groups of states. By the end of the school year, about 12 million children in 29 states and the District of Columbia will take them, using computers or electronic tablets.

The exams are expected to be more difficult than the traditional spring standardized state exams they replace. In some states, they’ll require hours of additional testing time because students will have to do more than just fill in the bubble. The goal is to test students on critical thinking skills, requiring them to describe their reasoning and solve problems.

The tests have multimedia components, written essays and multi-step calculations needed to solve math problems that go beyond just using rote memory. Students in some states will take adaptive versions in which questions get harder or easier depending on their answers.

But there’s been controversy.

The tests have been caught up in the debate playing out in state legislatures across the country about the federal role in education. Although more than 40 states have adopted Common Core, which spells out what reading and math skills students should master in each grade, several have decided not to offer the tests — known as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. Some states are introducing other new state standardized tests this year.

The Common Core tests fulfill the requirement in the federal No Child Left Behind law for annual testing in reading and math in grades three to eight and again in high school. But as Congress seeks to rewrite the education law, there’s debate over whether the tests should be required by Washington, and whether students are being tested too much. Parents in pockets of the country have joined a movement to “opt out” of these standardized tests.

Questions also have been raised about students’ keyboarding skills and schools’ computer capacities.

In some places, school administrators and state leaders are only grudgingly moving forward.

Referencing federal law, Illinois State Board of Education officials threatened to withhold funds from any district that didn’t administer the PARCC exam. Chicago Public Schools officials cited technology concerns in announcing they won’t give the exam in a majority of its schools.

And here in Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s effort to stop the PARCC exam was derailed by a state judge who said the governor’s actions were harmful to parents, teachers and students. Jindal has said he took the action because he opposes what he views as federal intervention in the adoption of the standards.

In today’s edition, the Jennings Daily News asked teachers to voice their opinions regarding whether or not they feel students are being tested too much.

The story serves as part one in a series of stories that will also focus on teacher evaluations and Common Core state standards. Teachers, as well as parents and students, can still share opinions related to this topic by sending an email to jdneditor@bellsouth.net.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/new-computerized-tests-debut-this-week/feed/0Midyear budget cuts disproportionately hit elected officialshttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/midyear-budget-cuts-disproportionately-hit-elected-officials/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/midyear-budget-cuts-disproportionately-hit-elected-officials/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 16:48:16 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30742In the latest round of midyear budget cuts, Gov. Bobby Jindal is taking a deeper carving knife to the spending of his fellow statewide elected officials than to most agencies under his control, including his own office.

The governor’s office will come through the $61 million in slashing largely unscathed, taking a reduction of $10,000 – less than one-tenth of 1 percent of its budget.

Departments overseen by the lieutenant governor, treasurer, insurance commissioner and agriculture commissioner are slated to take hits of 3 to 4 percent, more than nearly all departments managed by Jindal’s cabinet secretaries.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said the offices controlled by Louisiana’s elected officials, excluding the governor, comprise less than 1 percent of the $25 billion state budget. But they’re in line for 16 percent of the midyear budget cuts recommended by Jindal.

“We’re taking the brunt of it,” Strain said Thursday. “This is unfair. We all have duties to perform that are mandated by law and the constitution.”

Jindal released his plan last week to close a midyear deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30, a gap tied to nose-diving oil prices. The recommendations will be considered by lawmakers Feb. 20.

Several elected officials say they’ll be forced to consider layoffs and furloughs to cope with their cuts, while none of the departments under Jindal’s control say they will need to resort to those types of actions.

“Clearly, the disproportionate cuts are on the statewide elected officials. All you have to do is look at the numbers,” said Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne. “It seems out of whack.”

Jindal spokesman Mike Reed described the governor’s office reduction as “in line with other offices.”

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols, the governor’s chief budget architect, said the midyear cuts are part of a larger plan to also balance next year’s budget, when the state faces a $1.6 billion shortfall. Nichols said elected officials’ agencies will sustain less of an overall hit over the two-year period.

“The bottom line is you can’t view the midyear in isolation,” she said.

Nichols said when the statewide elected officials see the cuts proposed for departments next year, “they won’t be talking about disparities in reductions.”

Dardenne is closing three state historic sites, reducing hours for all state parks and keeping the state library open only two days a week to cut $3.6 million out of his office and his Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. He’s laying off 111 workers and scaling back his spring tourism campaign to attract visitors to the state.

Secretary of State Tom Schedler is considering layoffs and furloughs.

“I am respectful that the Division of Administration has a tremendous budget challenge to tackle,” Schedler said in a statement. But he added that the “disparity in the level of cuts handed to the statewide elected officials … quite frankly gives me pause.”

Strain’s office is one of the state’s largest regulatory agencies, overseeing items like inspections of gasoline pumps, pesticide use and dairy products. He said his $2 million cut will shut down seedling nurseries and limit fuel purchases for his firefighting crews.

He’s implemented an early retirement program in the hopes that will prevent furloughs.

Some of the elected officials plan to take their case to lawmakers, in the hopes of lessening their midyear cuts. But Nichols said that would worsen next year’s budget problems.

“I’m not anticipating changes or contemplating changes because I understand the full scope of the problem,” she said.

The association released the results of the survey Monday, offering two major conclusions: Louisiana teachers are not happy with the amount of time required to prepare students for standardized tests; and educators want the value-added component of their performance evaluations to hold less weight.

LAE President Debbie Meaux said these results were not surprising, as the overemphasis on standardized testing in Louisiana’s school accountability system hampers educators. How does a teacher focus on providing students with the broad range of learning experiences that promote the innovation, creativity, and deep subject-matter knowledge needed to help them thrive in an increasingly global society?

The answer probably isn’t bombarding teachers and students with never-ending tests.

LAE noted that the testing regime is not only a major concern for educators, but it’s time for lawmakers to listen to the concerns’ of the experts in the classroom.

The LAE’s survey revealed that 78 percent of the member-educators polled agreed that testing administered to measure student growth takes too much classroom time away from teaching. These feelings seem to fall in line with a national trend. According to a recent poll conducted by the National Education Association, 52 percent of member-teachers from across the U.S. said they feel as though they spend too much time preparing for tests; 45 percent said they have considered changing careers due to the pressure brought on by standardized testing.

In addition to opinions surrounding testing, the LAE’s poll also gauged members’ feelings toward the state’s controversial teacher performance evaluation system, COMPASS. Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed supported the concept of either eliminating or reducing the portion of the state’s teacher evaluation system that uses student performance on standardized tests as a determining factor in a teacher’s final performance evaluation (also known as the value-added model or VAM). Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said they would support lessening the weight that this component holds from 50 percent to 15 percent or less. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed agreed that linking teacher evaluations to student test scores is unfair, a position backed by several studies where evidence has proven VAM results to be grossly flawed, misguided and harmful to educators’ careers.

In Louisiana, a legislative subcommittee has been working to make recommendations regarding the overall effectiveness of COMPASS and its use of the value-added assessment model. The LAE, along with other stakeholder organizations, submitted several proposed changes to the system at a meeting of the subcommittee earlier this year. The association will continue to push for a reduction in the state’s testing mandates, in general.

In closing, this association argues that the focus should be taken away from these tests and instead shifted to fostering classroom environments that inspire students’ natural curiosity, imagination, and love of learning.

Share your thoughts about this issue. Submit your Letter to the Editor to jdneditor@bellsouth.net.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/student-testing-takes-too-much-time-away-from-classroom-instruction/feed/0Special ed overhaul triggers new argumentshttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/special-ed-overhaul-triggers-new-arguments/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/special-ed-overhaul-triggers-new-arguments/#commentsSat, 07 Feb 2015 23:05:06 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30680A task force has voted to form yet another panel to try to resolve problems plaguing a state law aimed at making it easier for students with disabilities to get a high school diploma.

Thursday’s decision followed nearly four hours of often pointed exchanges on who bears the blame for troubles surrounding a law that took effect in August.

Some backers of the overhaul contend the state education department has fallen short on providing educators with crucial guidance.

But Jamie Wong, director of special education policy, said her agency has supplied districts with a wide array of information and more is coming next week.

“This just went in to effect in August,” Wong said of the new rules. “We have tried to be very clear and very purposeful.”

The state has about 80,000 special education students and one of the nation’s lowest high school graduation rates for students with disabilities.

That statistic alone proves the point that something should be done. But what, and will it be enough?

The task force of special education officials, advocacy groups and parents was set up to help with the rollout of the measure, Act 833, in hopes of trying to resolve some of the problems.

But the issue has been plagued by controversy from the outset, and federal officials have twice raised concerns on whether the law runs afoul of federal rules.

The first wave of changes for students was supposed to be in place at the start of the school year.

However, state officials said that deadline was never realistic and essentially pushed it back to January.

With votes anticipated in the House and Senate, House Democrats crowded into a small Capitol Hill hearing room Thursday for their own forum on changing the law in protest of Republicans’ handling of the issue.

Annual testing requirements, Common Core standards and school choice are all hot-button issues in the debate. Both sides heartily agree that the landmark law needs to be fixed, but tension centers on the level of federal involvement in classifying and fixing schools.

Complicating the issue, allegiances don’t clearly fall along party lines. Among Republicans, for example, some members want to essentially eliminate the federal role in education, but GOP-friendly business groups side with civil rights groups in support of a strong federal role. Teachers’ unions, historically aligned with Democrats, have criticized the Obama administration’s handling of education policy as having too much of an emphasis on testing.

The bipartisan No Child Left Behind law, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, was designed to bring equity to schools and mandated that students in grades three to eight be tested annually in reading and math and once again in high school. Schools that didn’t show annual growth faced consequences, and every student was to be proficient by 2014.

Deciding that the goal was unattainable, the Obama administration in 2012 started granting waivers to states allowing them to avoid some of the more stringent requirements of the law if they met conditions such as adopting meaningful teacher evaluation systems and college- and career-ready standards like Common Core. The standards spell out what skills students in each grade should master in reading and math.

Widespread disagreement over how to change the law has kept Congress from getting a bill to President Barack Obama.

Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, on Tuesday released a bill to update the law similar to one passed by the House in 2013 without one Democrat on board, and scheduled a Feb. 11 committee meeting to consider it. The bill maintains federal testing requirements, but it strips the federal government of much of its authority ‚ including limiting the education secretary’s role in “coercing” standards. A vote is expected in late February.

Kline said the committee has had more than a dozen hearings over the last four years. “Americans have waited long enough for reforms that will fix a broken education system,” he said. Like Alexander, Kline has expressed concern that a strong federal role in education stifles education advancement and innovation in states.

But Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va., the newly appointed senior Democrat on the committee, accused House Republicans of a “hasty, partisan push” to rewrite the law and he organization the forum with a panel of education experts.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement that Kline’s bill would “turn back the clock on growth.”

Much of the discussion in the Senate has focused on whether federal testing mandates should continue. Alexander has said he’s willing to listen to both sides.

He’s hopeful by the end of the month he can get a bill out of his committee.

]]>http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/02/republicans-democrats-jockey-on-changing-education-law/feed/0ATC announces annual Mardi Gras Crackdownhttp://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/01/atc-announces-annual-mardi-gras-crackdown/
http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/2015/01/atc-announces-annual-mardi-gras-crackdown/#commentsSat, 31 Jan 2015 22:16:46 +0000http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=30614Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) agents will be out and about this Mardi Gras season, so area businesses that serve tobacco and alcohol to minors should consider themselves warned.

ATC Commissioner Troy Hebert has ordered agents to hit the streets throughout this Mardi Gras season to ensure that alcohol, tobacco, and alternative nicotine products are being sold and served responsibly.

Agents have continued to increase the number of compliance checks they conduct during Mardi Gras celebrations statewide in an attempt to keep alcohol, tobacco, and alternative nicotine products out of the hands of underage persons.

Last August, several local businesses were cited for underage sales after ATC agents conducted 6,598 compliance checks throughout the state during the agency’s 2014 Summer Crackdown. Nine citations were issued to seven Jeff Davis Parish businesses, while 895 citations were issued statewide.

Approximately 14 percent of the businesses checked throughout the summer actually sold to minors.

Citations were issued to a business in Elton, three businesses in Jennings, one in Lacassine and two businesses in Lake Arthur for alcohol/tobacco violations.

“The fact we are using only 16 and 17 year old operatives and getting this many sales is concerning,” Hebert said of the summer crackdown. “Let me be clear, there is nothing good that can come out of selling alcohol to a minor. And if you do, ATC will hold you accountable. This permit is a privilege, not a right.”

Anyone caught selling or serving alcohol or tobacco products to minors are subject to criminal and administrative charges. Businesses face fines in the thousands of dollars and penalties that could result in suspension or revocation of their alcohol and tobacco permits.

While Mardi Gras and alcohol often go hand and hand, business owners are once again being reminded of the important alcohol laws that each staff member of a business should be trained to follow.

Since taking a more proactive approach in educating businesses ahead of Carnival Season, the number of citations issued to businesses for selling alcohol and tobacco to minors has decreased dramatically. ATC agents will again be out in full force to ensure a fun and safe Mardi Gras for all Louisiana citizens and visitors.